My friend, who's into the whole sound thing and I think is doing it at uni, I don't know anymore, said to get the SM57 because it's better for instruments and still does a decent job on vocals.

The whole "cheaper" thing is appealing too.

PremierManiac

10-29-2005, 10:23 PM

The 57 is meant for instrument and dynamic applications. The 58 is meant mostly for vocals.

Chipwich88

10-29-2005, 10:43 PM

really, they're almost the same mic just constructed somewhat differently SM57 is popular for drum micings over the 58 because of this. Its unidirectional pickup placement avoid bleeding from other drums and you could place it anywhere you like over the drum without the risk of hitting and windscreen or something.

Half Life

10-29-2005, 10:45 PM

Go SM57 :thumb:

Everything_and_Nothing_3:15

10-29-2005, 10:45 PM

57 is perfect, can't go wrong with it. I'm using one for my snare and hats while recording with my band and it really picks up everything, all the little ghost nost and such.

RichHunt

10-29-2005, 11:02 PM

Sounds like the 57 is the way to go. Down the track I plan on grabbing more mics, probably a 58 for vocals as well, but what small mixer will do the job? I've heard too many bad things about the behringers, the smaller mackie sounds decent, as does the, I think it's, Soundworks one.

Loyton

10-29-2005, 11:15 PM

57 for instrument, 58 for vocals. I own both, dunno what else to tell yea!

Parker

10-30-2005, 01:08 AM

Sounds like the 57 is the way to go. Down the track I plan on grabbing more mics, probably a 58 for vocals as well, but what small mixer will do the job? I've heard too many bad things about the behringers, the smaller mackie sounds decent, as does the, I think it's, Soundworks one.
Dude Behringer rocks. No **** I have quite a few Behringer products, and they get the job done for sure bro. I have a 12 channel mixer that I got over a year ago and it is awesome expecially for the price. I also got a small Behringer UB502 I think it is called, I originally got it just to use for playback but I use it for micing up my acoustic guitar a lot also. (I mic my drums with 7 mics and use a Behringer UB2222 I think it is called.) Runs around 200.00 I believe. I have some recordings also, if you would like to hear.

poppinfresh

10-30-2005, 01:11 AM

get a yamaha mixer and the 57

Double Bass Jim

10-30-2005, 01:49 AM

Yep the ole' 57's the way.

Shu

10-30-2005, 01:40 AM

I think you looking at the 57'

But one thing for the more knowledgeable then me people.. would the 57 be ok to place out infront of my kit, or over my kit? and would it still pickup the gist of the magic been played?
also.. are there any other mics better at recording than the 57 in the situation of just useing the one mic..

Parker

10-30-2005, 01:50 AM

^^^The SM57 is unidirectional, which means it is for places directly in front of a drum, speaker, etc. I have used just one to record a rough drum track before, just placed it across the room on a stand facing directly at the kit. I think the SM58 would be better for this situation because it is omnidirectional or whatever you want to call it. Most was said in above posts.

Damo

10-30-2005, 03:56 AM

Im pretty sure the term is "hyper-cardoid"...

breakster

10-30-2005, 05:13 AM

i would recommend the 57. unfortunately i happen to have a 58 lying around

RichHunt

10-30-2005, 06:08 AM

i would recommend the 57. unfortunately i happen to have a 58 lying around

Also Shu, I reckon putting the mic behind you and up would probably be the best because you'd get the sound that you hear and if you tune it to sound best to you that'd be the best sound. In my song I chucked the 58 up high and to my left (that's the closest I could get to behind me) and it was.. decent for one mic, I just need something to compress the sound.

PremierManiac

10-30-2005, 11:48 AM

Dude Behringer rocks. No **** I have quite a few Behringer products, and they get the job done for sure bro. I have a 12 channel mixer that I got over a year ago and it is awesome expecially for the price. I also got a small Behringer UB502 I think it is called, I originally got it just to use for playback but I use it for micing up my acoustic guitar a lot also. (I mic my drums with 7 mics and use a Behringer UB2222 I think it is called.) Runs around 200.00 I believe. I have some recordings also, if you would like to hear.

Behringer is pretty good but whatever you do stay away from the Euro series, its just crap.

poppinfresh

10-30-2005, 11:59 AM

Im pretty sure the term is "hyper-cardoid"...
actually its just caridiod, hyper cardioid has a really precise and small area that it picks up. Theres also super cardioid which is before the hyper.

DxRocker

10-30-2005, 04:37 PM

58 = vocals
57 = works wonders on a snare

Damo

10-30-2005, 05:15 PM

Poppin - Im aware of that, but isnt the 57 considered hyper?

Seafroggys

10-30-2005, 07:43 PM

Ah now I can elaborate on my audio recording class.

An SM57 is like the use-all mic, you can use it on anything and it'll work fairly well. However there's always better mics. The two things that SM57s, however, work better on than anything else, are snare drums and guitar amps (that is, for rock and pop music).

Bone

10-30-2005, 07:48 PM

The 57 is a dynamic microphone with hypercardioid polar pattern. Slightly different frequency response (40Hz-21Khz) curve then the 58, impendance of 600Ohm I think.

poppinfresh

10-30-2005, 08:03 PM

Poppin - Im aware of that, but isnt the 57 considered hyper?
oh sorry, i dont have my sm57 manual with me, but im almost positive taht its cardioid from what i remember of its graph. But if it was hypercardioid i dont think it would be that widely used since it wouldnt be as versatile.

but again halfway through my post i scroll down and realize that i was pwn3d so im on the website now doublechecking

In the end it really doesn't matter. 57s are awesome for drums and stand up to abuse like no other.

rockindrummer

10-30-2005, 09:29 PM

The 57 is a great mic for instruments, amazing on snares too. Where as the 58, like everyone else has said, is better for vocals.

RichHunt

10-31-2005, 12:25 AM

Ok. So can anyone recommend me cheap mixers? Only needs like.. 4 channels really. 4 XLR inputs I mean. But even less I don't really care, just something decent that works.

DxRocker

10-31-2005, 02:15 AM

Behringer is your friend :)
Exact copies of Mackie, only the materials used are cheaper ones (wich still makes them very good and durable mixers if you take care of them!)

And when I say "exact copies of", I mean EXACT copies of.
They practically steal the Mackie blueprints and just make cheaper models of them, plus that they don't have to put money into research and development, wich also makes the mixers really cheap.

They ahve been sued by mackie several times already, but they have such a team of evil lawyers that it always ends up in "carry on..." :)

I remember a case where they made a copy of a 24 track mackie mixer wich had an error in one of the effects. The exact same error was found in the Behringer also... :lol:

Good stuff and really affordable.

crolfe1

10-31-2005, 02:30 AM

This little guy will be your best friend... If you like mixers as best friends.

I own and use the 16/4 version of it and I have to say I've never had a problem connecting or routing any signal to and from the mixer. Not to mention it has VERY low noise opperation and phantom power. This is one sweet mixer for a great price!

At our last gig we had 1 main vocal, 2 back up vocals, 1 bass guitar, 4 drum mics, and one cd player routed to 2 power amps, then onto 4 speakers. It took on every task like a champ and sounded great doing it. It's a good looking mixer too!

BTW IMO Yamaha > Behringer not only in mixers, but everything else too.

DxRocker

10-31-2005, 02:45 AM

The guy asked for a cheap and ok mixer, wich behringer is. Yamaha is good as well, sure... (but better then EVERYTHING else... think again) And if you find one on e-bay, by all means go for it.

If you want to buy one new though, I'ld go with something like this:
http://www.behringer.com/UBB1002/index.cfm?lang=ENG

crolfe1

10-31-2005, 02:51 AM

^^^ Well, according to my post it says, "Yamaha > Behringer not only in mixers, but everything else too." Which essestially states Yamaha products are better then the products made by Behringer.

Also, how cheap is cheap? Less then $100 USD retail (much less used/Ebay) for a mixer with 4 xlr inputs is a great buy. And for it to sound great too, well, IMO it's not a hard desision to go with Yamaha.The mixer you suggested is $130...

DxRocker

10-31-2005, 03:07 AM

lol, misunderstood you there then.

And so did you, I said "if you want to buy one NEW". For new gear, behringer will be a lot cheaper then brands like Yamaha, roland and mackie.

Both meet the requirements. The difference is $20. Where would you put your money?

My vote- Yamaha.

crolfe1

10-31-2005, 03:27 AM

However a decent firewire box to a PC is about the same as a cheap mixer and a far far better solution.

Last time I checked the decent choice on the market for an analog to digital interface was presonus. Thier smallest box starts at $299 and this guy needs 4 xlr inputs. That leaves only the $599 firepod xt. Hardly the price of a good, yet affordable mixer (When a decent one can start as low as $99).

RichHunt

10-31-2005, 08:31 PM

Must say I like the look of the yamaha.

Hadji

10-31-2005, 09:24 PM

I own the yamaha MG10/2. I really like it for what it is. Obviously it's kinda limiting as it only has 4 XLR inputs, but it gets the job done pretty good. I'd recommend also picking up something like the M-Audio MobilePre so that you can get stereo sound into your computer. When you're on a budget as far as your interface goes, having stereo really goes a long way in helping you when you have to mix the drums.

RichHunt

10-31-2005, 09:27 PM

I own the yamaha MG10/2. I really like it for what it is. Obviously it's kinda limiting as it only has 4 XLR inputs, but it gets the job done pretty good. I'd recommend also picking up something like the M-Audio MobilePre so that you can get stereo sound into your computer. When you're on a budget as far as your interface goes, having stereo really goes a long way in helping you when you have to mix the drums.

Can you explain that to me? I'm a bit of a recording novice, if that hasn't shown already. :D

I thought you just had cables that go out from the mixer into the comps mic in and it'd be stereo.

Hadji

10-31-2005, 09:31 PM

Can you explain that to me? I'm a bit of a recording novice, if that hasn't shown already. :D

I thought you just had cables that go out from the mixer into the comps mic in and it'd be stereo.
I do believe that it would be mono as you'd either have to take it left out or right out from the mixer. Also, your standard sound card won't yeild very pleasing results as far as the sound goes. If you get an audio interface like the MobilePre, it has a preamp in it to smooth the tone of your recording and it can go into the computer via USB so you won't have to use your soundcard at all.

RichHunt

10-31-2005, 10:37 PM

I do believe that it would be mono as you'd either have to take it left out or right out from the mixer. Also, your standard sound card won't yeild very pleasing results as far as the sound goes. If you get an audio interface like the MobilePre, it has a preamp in it to smooth the tone of your recording and it can go into the computer via USB so you won't have to use your soundcard at all.

How much would it cost?

RichHunt

10-31-2005, 11:28 PM

Ok.. I've found it for $150 american, that might be something to get down the road, looks pretty sweet though.

poppinfresh

11-01-2005, 12:51 AM

However a decent firewire box to a PC is about the same as a cheap mixer and a far far better solution.

but most pcs cant handle that kind of recording, and besides a firewire can take like two inputs and he needs four xlr inputs so i guess that ownt work for drums assuming that hes recording everything at once.

Bone

11-01-2005, 04:30 AM

Sure they can. What world do you live in?

Presonus makes a great product, you can get ones ranging in inputs from 2-16.

Also Motu makes an excellent interface product.

Take a step up into the world of technology, computer, decent firewire box and some mics - You're good to go with album quality recording abbilities.

right, that's why mackie sued behringer for making exact copies of their gear (using cheaper plastic buttons and stuff) :rolleyes:
At least that's what I heared from my friend and he works for a little firm that makes their own (extremely awesome) gear. That's where I got my soundcard from :D

I never claimed it to be professional gear man. I said Behringer is always a fun and cheap option if you don't wish to invest a butload of money. I never looked into 4 track mixers... I wouldn't even know why I would want one.

I own a 24 (16 xlr and 4 stereo/8 mono) track behringer. The effects in it are great and there's not the slightest amount of unwanted noise. 4 subgroups, 99 differenct effects, insert i/o, talkback, equiliser, phantom power, etc.

You pay this thing 460$ in our local music store (but I got it for 350). It does exactly what I need it to do and the sound is really good.
On top of that, when that thing will operate in my semi-pro studio, it won't even be used as the mixer. I'll do a little soundcheck on that thing and the main mixing/mastering will happen on the pc.

For only 20$ though, yes, I'ld probably also go for a more reliable brand. Didn't know the difference wasn't that big for small mixers.

I am soooo not surprised to see that hahaha.
They totally clone everything they make. That's the only reason why they can afford to give such cheap prices for similar products (in terms of features in the product) compared to others: they have no research & development overhead costs to cover. And the quality of the gear (or at least, the sound produced) easily comes very close to the original thing (if not, it's just as good). Only the durability is less because of the cheaper plastics used for buttons etc.

But if you take good care of them, you can keep them for a long long time.

Behringer has got an awesome team of lawyers though, I'm sure they'll pull themselves out of this one again....